


Oh No, What Now

by SingingSwallow



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Dream Sequence, Explosions, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jäger!Klaus, Pain, Pre-Canon, Transformation, comedy of disasters, eventually, first fic, will add tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-09-29 11:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17202632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingSwallow/pseuds/SingingSwallow
Summary: Due to lack of maintanence in the Great Movement Chamber a fraction of the more dangerous aspects of the Dyne have begun to leak into the river proper. Klaus takes it on himself to be the only researcher responsible for figuring out what is leaking and designing better filters to make sure it gets no where near other sparks. He knows the Jäger will be watching him like hawks.Starts in Gil's second year in Paris, a bit before Winter Break.(Edit) Or: A spur of the moment fic that got out of hand. I don't know much more about where I'm going with this then you. I just know it's going to be a ride and a half.





	1. Mistakes were made

**Author's Note:**

> Hope people enjoy this. I haven't really written full like this before.
> 
> Klaus will suffer.

Klaus read the report again. He had not misread, then. There were strange lights coming from Dyne at night. Not particularly bright, only visible in darkness. His agent speculated that something in the castle had sprung a leak. He checked Tiktoffen’s report. Nothing unusual, aside from the Castle getting more rant prone. All things considered, having a noticeable increase in ranting from that maniac of masonry should be concerning. Something, Klaus concluded, in the Castle had come loose and it was worrying enough for the Castle to be annoyed rather than amused.

 

But whatever it was… The Castle wasn’t sending the inmates to fix it. So Klaus could only assume it was an important secret. Which meant he couldn’t put people on it. He’d have to do the research himself.

 

He sent a squad of non-sparks to install whatever filters in the river they could to prevent the glow going outside Mechanicsburg and bring him samples. A missive to the Burgermeister to emphasise that no tourists should be allowed near the river upstream of this filter. Finally, he wrote a letter to the Jäger Generals. He worded it very carefully indeed, attempting to explain his intention to examine whatever was leaking into the Dyne. Alone, so that the knowledge would go no further than him, to understand how dangerous it was and create precautions and direct repairs. For good measure, he swore on his friendship with the Heterodyne Boys that he would keep the knowledge as secret as he was able. He sent it with a Jäger he knew was secretly literate, praying to whatever divinity was listening that nothing would go wrong.

 

All those messages sent, the Baron went to prepare a space in one of his secret labs. He informed Boris, the only other person who knew where it was for the sake of safety, that if he had an accident in here in the near future to grab a Jäger to bring him to the medical rooms.

 

Days passed before his samples arrived. Every Jäger on the ship had started to seem unusually alert, but none of them had tried to stop him yet. He could only hope that was a good sign. They did put a lot of faith in oaths, and he was known to keep his.  
The first day of test showed that whatever it was was new to science. Definitely a secret of the Heterodynes then. He’d never seen anything like this.

 

Second day. It was appallingly toxic. A poison then. Curious.

 

Second Week. A Jäger had found their way into the lab and was disinclined to leave. So be it, then. Better that he was watched then distrusted.

 

Third week. Perhaps it had medicinal properties? A vial of the water fell on his hand when he’d been packing up. The glass broke Klaus’ skin, but as soon as he removed the glass it sealed up rapidly.

 

The Jägerkin had been switching out. They had been keeping tabs on where Klaus was virtually at all hours. Klaus chose not to protest. If this is what they need to do to know they can trust him, then he was inclined to let them.

 

Fourth week. The lab Jäger grabbed Klaus’ hand to ask him some questions. What he was doing. What his intent for this experiment was. The current experiment was to determine reactivities that would make it easier to filter out the toxins in the Dyne. Klaus tiredly explained how he was intending to do it. The Jäger snorted, letting go, and expressed that Klaus was probably not using the right chemicals for that as it smelt familiar. Interesting.

 

The day after. Questions from the Jägers became hourly. Demanding. Sometimes they would ask him to prove it helped filtration. Other times he’d be asked how he felt about the Heterodyne boys and their ancestors. God. How close was he to a dangerous secret? Over the following days the questions became more challenging to answer. Several times he found he’d have to think about them for a few minutes first. These questions were no longer scientific in nature. Philosophical. Invasive sometimes. He had not known Jäger’s were capable of asking such introspective questions. But it always came back to the Heterodynes. Naturally. He began to suspect they were testing him. Trying to analyse his oath on the Boys from every angle they collectively could.

 

When next he met with the Generals regarding military engagements it went refreshingly normal. Though that could be attributed to the Deep Thinkers being present. That was until the end of the meeting.

 

“Vhy don’t hyu come haff tea vid us Herr Baron.” Khrizhan asked. And oh. Oh dear. He’d already sent Boris off with the papers to file them. Most of the deep thinkers were already out the door. And if he refused without someone to back him up that could go very badly.

 

“Very well.” Nothing for it. Klaus supposed this would need to happen eventually. He turned to a Jäger orderly. “Let Boris know where I am.”

 

The orderly saluted and ran off after Boris. No doubt planning to tell half the other Jägers what was going on afterwards.

 

Klaus folded his arms behind his back. Keeping his usual mask of stoicism on his face. He found himself glad that Gilgamesh had been in Paris for this entire thing and would hopefully remain there until it was over. His son would not feel the same scrutiny as him.

 

Sitting down in the Jäger Generals tea room was more nerve wracking then it had been since the Deal. He didn’t let it onto his face. Klaus felt like he was going to have to account for his actions. If he’d crossed or got close to crossing a line they didn’t want him to then he decided that he would hand all his notes to them on the spot and halt the research. That would likely be the least bloody solution.

 

“Zo.” Zog was the first to speak. Klaus braced himself. “De Heterodyne boys. Hyu vere verra goot friends, yah?”

 

What? What were they doing? This was a question he’d been asked a hundred time from various Jägers lately. “Yes. I couldn’t have asked for better.”

 

Khrizhan leaned forward. “Und how far vould you go for dem? De depths of hell? De peaks of Heaven? For de vorste und de best?”

 

Variations of this question had also been asked endlessly. Klaus felt like he was missing something here. Did they know something he didn’t? “If I didn’t they’d probably end up doing something stupid. If I felt I was needed, to either keep them in check or necessary to get the job done, I would go anywhere for them. I wouldn’t necessarily be happy about it, but I would go.”

 

There was an exchange of mutterings between the generals. Klaus’ attempts to hear what they were saying was futile so he resigned himself to considering why they were asking these questions. Perhaps they were trying to reassure themselves?  
All too soon the Generals returned their attention to him.

 

Goomblast sipped his tea and, as if it were an idle question, asked. “And vot of any keedz dey haff?”

 

That. Was a new one. He took as much time as he felt he could afford to consider it. The generals were clearly angling for something. Yes, of course. They wanted to turn this into the go fetch a Heterodyne talk. That, or they’d found one and wanted to gauge how he’d react.

 

“A young Heterodyne would be a challenge. I’d certainly want to be among those guiding them and looking out for their education.” That felt like a safe answer. And it seemed to satisfy the generals, so it was probably the right one.

 

It seemed to be Zog’s turn again. “Und vot if hyu friends The Boys or dere keeds vere hurt? Vere keeled?”

 

This one, at least, was easy. “The boys got hurt all the time. I did to, but we treated each other. Mended our wounds and cared for each other. This hasn’t changed. I don’t see why I wouldn’t do the same for their kids. As for them being killed… I will make it my top priority to bring down whoever actually managed.” Anyone who could bring the boys, or any Heterodyne, down was a massive threat to everything he’d built. Naturally he’d want them dealt with.

 

“Und dere secrets? De secrets of de Family. You vould keep dem too? Protect dem with hyu life if hyu must? Yah?” Goomblast had sat forward. Confound those goggles for making his eyes impossible to see. This felt more in line with the questioning Klaus had actually expected.

 

“Considering how bloody nuts the Old Heterodynes were I hardly think letting their secrets out would be at all wise. I would rather burn Europa down myself than let the sparks of the world have access to that.” Goomblast nudged Zog in the ribs as Klaus said that. What the hell were they up to? None of the questions and answers so far felt like they could explain the purpose of this discussion.

 

Khrizhan stood up. “Do hyu Svear it!? Svear it on de ting hyu hold most precious? All of it!?”

 

And like that Klaus’ composure cracked. But now he thought he knew what this was. They were seeking reassurance and to solidify his promise. Most precious-? Gilgamesh. The Generals did know about him.

 

“I swear it on my son.”

 

The second he said that, he felt like maybe he should have sworn it on something a little less precious. Like the empire.

 

Zog handed money to Goomblast, who for his part looked smug.

 

“Den hyu is JÄGERKIN!” The room roared.

 

What.

 

Jägers flooded the room in seconds. Apparently, they’d managed to stay hidden in various places the entire time. Klaus was swamped. Given no opportunity to regain his balance as several Jägers insisted on hugging him and… Congratulating him?  
So it took several minutes for him to realise what had actually happened. “… That was the Troth?!”

 

A chorus of laughter from the crowd.

 

“Vell… Ve are usually more direct und there’s normally a Heterodyne present. But yah. Hyu haff svorn de Troth. Hyu is Jäger now. Villingly too. Hyu did not seem to haff reservations.” Khrizhan smirked.

 

And Klaus realised he couldn’t break this. Couldn’t go back on it. He’d sworn on his son for goodness sakes. He shouldn’t have done that but he did.

 

Damage control then.

 

“I have an image to maintain. If I must be considered a Jäger it will only be the Jäger who know.”

 

Zog laughed “Not chust der Jäger. Dere is important pipple in Mechanicsburg who must know. Und of cause de Boris bug man. But ve vill leaf it at dot. Und hyu vill honour de Deal like any odder Jäger, yah?”

 

Oh fuck.

 

Hmm. Maybe not. There was no reason he’d be expected to enter Mechanicsburg any time soon. And with a few key locals knowing they would likely not make it a problem.

 

“Hy suggest hyu tell hyu son too. Especially vot vith hyu svearingk on heem.” Andre this time.

 

And damn. He had a point. This day kept getting more embarrassing. “Fine. But as commander of the empire I am still in charge. And I’m not disturbing Gilgamesh before the holidays unless I absolutely have to.”

 

He’d have to send a message to Gilgamesh to come home for the holidays. It wasn’t usually something they did.

 

There was a knock on the door. Thank god. The Jäger scrambled to act natural, allowing Klaus to straighten his suit, sit back down and pick up his tea before someone opened the door.

 

It was Boris.

 

Ok. Apparently they were doing this now.

 

“Sir. As entertaining as the Jäger are you do have work to do.”

 

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose, glared at any Jäger who looked to be about to open their mouths and turned to his right-hand man. “Boris, when we get back to my office you are going to need to sit down for a minute.”

 

He stood up. None of the Jäger moved to stop him. Good. Boris raised an eyebrow at him as he left the room. As soon as the door shut they could both hear the Jäger burst out in raucous laughter.

 

“Do I want to know what they find so amusing sir?”

 

“That, Boris, would be me. I will tell you in my office.”


	2. Accidents happen, Oh Yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEE
> 
> Mechanicsburg recieves a report and Klaus does something inadvisable. Boris is upset.

 

_Carson and Vanamonde hadn’t been entirely surprised to be called to talk to the Jager who had come to Gkika’s from Castle Wulfenbach recently. It was fairly normal for them to get intel that way. What they didn’t expect was what they were told._

_“You’re seriously telling me old Klaus swore the Troth freely!?” Carson was too old for this bullshit. Vanamonde was nearly ready to take over. Why did this have to happen in the transition period?_

_“De Generals did it sneaky like. Vit Inno-scent qvestions. Und den dey ask him to svear by his most precious dot he vos committed to de answers. Svore by loved vone of hees. De look on hees face vhen he realised vos beautiful. Vent into damage controlling qvick like, bot didn’t deny eet.” The messenger Jager, named Wilbert, enthused._

_“My god.” Carson sat._

_“So what now? The Baron is a Jager by Troth, but he’s still the leader of the empire.” Vanamonde at least seemed to be able to move things forward. Good._

_“Eet means ve haff a spark dot ken help vid repairs again.” Gkika leaned against the booth with a serious expression. “Hy vant to break him in vhen de first chence come.”_

 

Boris had been incredulous, which Klaus had expected, but now the Jäger were at least being less overbearing about his experiments. Albeit now they kept inviting him to the officially designated Jäger beer hall of the Castle and calling him Brother when no one else was in earshot. That last bit… He tried not to think about how it made him feel. Both pain and… something else.

 

It took another week, but once the latest tumult in his empire was settled Klaus went to his lab. Gilgamesh would be coming home for the winter holidays in a week’s time. With some time to alone he allowed himself the luxury of fuguing. Deeply.

 

The filtration problem was finished very quickly after that. He no longer had an annoying gnat hanging over his shoulder to prevent him from concentrating, but now he was getting distracted by possibilities instead. Setting the filtration prototype to the side, clearly labelled with instructions, but no in-depth explanation, he indulged himself.

 

The next few hours were a blur. He blearily remembered that the purpose of the liquid in front of him was meant to be something for rapid healing? He wasn’t entirely sure what it did anymore. What he did know was that a Jäger had snuck in again, was looking amused, and had apparently been playing assistant for half the night.

 

“Hyu goingk to drink dat?” Which one was it? Horatio? Definitely something starting with H.

 

He massaged his temples. “Not until I remember what it was supposed to be. Did I say what it was?”

 

“Hyu said hyu vere making some kind of ting to mek hyu heal faster und be stronk? Hyu made notes.” Horatio handed the notes to Klaus.

 

Ah. Yes. The idea had been to isolate the healing properties of the Dyne and use them to permanently enhance his own healing speed. Then he noticed that, with a bit of tweaking, the toxic elements could be made to increase physical abilities… And that was where it trailed off. He rather suspected he’d done somewhat more. Oh, but it was just one dose in the test tube. Without clear knowledge of what he’d done to replicate it later, he couldn’t test it on an animal.

 

He picked up the tube and regarded it critically. Quite the conundrum.

 

And then the world went sideways.

 

The floor lurched with an explosion in a nearby lab. It flung Klaus forwards. His lips met the test tube. The momentum flung him further, into a flip. Onto his back.

 

The test tube had drained into his mouth. The flesh under his tongue roared in pain. He ripped the tube away and tried to spit it out. Nothing. His mouth burned. It couldn’t have soaked into his mouth lining that quick, could it? He hadn’t even swallowed, there should be something to spit up? But no. Nothing was coming up.

 

The Jäger was watching him intently.

 

“If you have ANY more in depth knowledge of what that did then say! Because I certainly didn’t mention anything in my notes about not needing to swallow!”

 

“Schmelt like Jägerbrau. Had all ze ingredient too. Bot hy don’t know if hyu got eet right.”

 

Oh no.

 

He was in for a world of pain and very probably death. “… Tell Boris to publicly declare Gil my heir immediately and get me what medical aid I am allowed.”

 

The Jäger hesitated.

 

“NOW!”

 

The Jäger ran.

 

The burning was spreading beyond his mouth. It felt like the blood vessels of his face had been filled with fire.

 

He could feel himself slipping back into the madness place. But it was different? There was a clarity to it? Like a door in his mind had been opened. It would be so, so easy to get distracted by all the ideas that were suddenly flooding his mind. Was euphoric clarity normal? He should try to focus on something to stop his mind wandering. Survive. Yes. Good goal right there. What could he do to maximise his chances?

 

Nutrients.

 

He ran as fast as his suddenly wobbly legs could carry him to the snacks stash he kept in this lab. When did this blender get here? Not important. He emptied the entire stash into the blender. How long should he set it to? He needed to ingest it before this progressed to point where that was impossible. A number surfaced in his mind with astonishing certainty. He added water and set the blender going. As soon as it was done he chugged it directly.

 

Footsteps. Many of them. He didn’t have chance to put the blender down normally before his body buckled under him. But he’d managed to eat.

 

Was he… floating?

 

Someone was screaming? Oh. That was him. And like that his mind caught up with his body. Searing pain from every inch of him crashed through and shattered his fugue. He was faintly aware the was glowing. Or possibly on fire? Something was blinding him. And it hurt. And hurt. He could feel his mind pulling in. Retreating from the pain. And everything went dark.

 

* * *

 

 

“Vell. Hy don’t tink any of us deed dis.” Horatio had returned with a frazzled Boris and as many Jäger as they could fit through the passage.

 

“Do hyu tink he vill explode like old Igneous, brodder?”

 

“Explode?!” To say Boris was alarmed was an understatement.

 

“Mebbe chust ketch fire.”

 

“Fire!?” Boris tried to collect himself. “Exactly _what_ did you say he ingested?”

 

“Secret of de Heterodynes. Big vun too.” Horatio decided that he was going to have to be Boris’ handler here. Not something he wanted, but someone had to keep an eye on him.

 

“And you let him?”

 

“It vasn’t hees idea, it vos de explosion’s idea. Den he couldn’t spit it out like he vanted to.” One of the Jäger poked the floating and glowing Klaus with a stick. The stick caught fire. Which was quickly put out… but it looked like Igneous Heterodyne’s fate was getting more likely. “Hy tink de glowing is cus of chust vun ingredient? Mebbe eets reacting to his spark?”

 

“And exactly what is this going to do to him?” Boris was, to his credit, trying not to panic. He had to remind himself that panic would not help.

 

“HOY HORATIO! He ate all hiz SNACKS before he conked! Zum of eets still in de blender!” Shouted another Jäger before proceeding to try to pour the remainder of the concoction in their employers’ mouth while standing on a table and trying not to touch him.

 

 “DEN VE KEEP FEEDINGK HIM UND MEBBE HE LIFFES! Ve tink he is becoming full Jäger or dyingk.” The appalled look on Boris’ face would have been beautiful under any other circumstance, but Horatio could appreciate that this was a problem. The Jäger needed the Baron.

 

FWUMP

 

The introduction of the remaining goop from the blender into Klaus face was apparently what was needed to stop the glowing and floating. Huh. One of the Jäger’s did the stick test again. No fire.

 

“Ve teck him to bed he von’t miss now. Hyu job is to mek sure hees heir is recognised yah? For de smooth teck over eef dis go bad.” Horatio felt like maybe Boris would leave them to it and get out of his hair now he had an explanation. “Ve is goingk to clean de lab too.”

 

Just then Boris noticed the group of Jäger throwing all the notes into the burnable disposables bin. “The Baron needs medical attention. Take him to the medical wing.”

 

“No. Ve is all de medical help he gon get till de Heterodynes is beck. De medical ving full of nosy sparks.” Behind Horatio the Jäger were carrying Klaus into the tunnel that led out of the secret lab.

 

“You cannot possibly believe he’ll accept that!” Boris refused to believe he would.

 

“De Baron understends how dangerous de secret he drank ees. I ham acting on hees orders.” Horatio patted Boris patronisingly on the shoulder. “Bot don’t vorry. Ve vill get hour bestest field medic to vatch him.”

 

“A Jäger doctor. Never thought I’d see the day.” Boris stated dryly, glowering. This argument was going nowhere. He would simply have to go over Horatio’s head and send medics in to wherever the Jager were taking Klaus. “What room are you taking him to?”

 

Horatio named a dirigible. Apparently the Jäger had decided it was faster to take Klaus to their doctor (who was apparently on the ground somewhere) rather than recall the doctor… Which wasn’t entirely wrong.

 

“… Then where is this doctor deployed?”

 

* * *

 

 

It took entirely too long for Horatio to convince Boris that Klaus was being taken to a secret Jäger hospital set up under a town near Mechanicsburg. Oh sure. That’s where they’d be landing. But Klaus would be taken via tunnel to Mamma’s. It took even longer to convince Boris that tradition dictated that only relatives of the prospective Jäger and other Jäger would be allowed in. They couldn’t let Boris know the actual location. Too dedicated a paper pusher. But Gil? Gil was a sweetheart. Gil was raised around Jäger and learnt how they thought to a degree. Gil would care more about his father then the blatant loophole abuse of Gkika’s location.

 

Still, Horatio had had to stay behind long enough that the group with Klaus had already cast off. At least he would get to be the one to take Gil to his father though. The General’s reward for running interference.


	3. Poison, Jäger and OH MY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gil is retrieved. The Jäger have fun.

_Three days after the Baron took the Troth:_

_Seffy leafed through Gil Holzfäller’s mail as usual. Hmm. Ordered to return to the castle for Winter Holidays by the Baron himself? What could that be about? She would have to send it back on track though. It would be too suspicious for it not to get through, but she would be keeping DuMedd’s letter. It described part of Castle Wulfenbach’s hidden paths, and she needed to cross reference it with the other letters to help the Smoke Knights with their map. It was such a pity, really it was, that Gil had missed so much mail because it was useful. She’d just have to make up for how lonely that no doubt made him. Such a pity._

_Five days after the Baron took the Troth:_

_Gil thanked Wooster for fetching his mail (what little of it had arrived) and went to fetch his letter opener. The hour spent chasing the hyper engineered seagull that stole it, then negotiating with Bang for giving it back, was decidedly not worth it. (Although perhaps defeating the seagull’s inventor was. Got a nice nutcracker out of that.) He should have just torn into it bare handed for all the good news it bore. Why did Father want him home? Gil thought they’d agreed that Paris was his chance to spread his wings and was going to be a year-round thing. Well. He supposed he’d have to cancel some plans._

 

Two days after the Baron’s accident:

Horatio was rather pleased with himself. It had been his idea to bring a minion with them to explain the situation to the Master of Paris. Oh sure, it meant they didn’t get to fight, but fighting the Master was no fun. The man didn’t even wear a hat! Andre had promised to buy him a drink at Mamma’s for this move!

 

The minion was now leading them to where old Voltaire said Gil was. Some extra-curricular chasing down a poisoner had led him to a Burlesque show. Their boy was all grown up! Horace, who had somehow got it into his head that Gil was performing at the show, was planning to take Gil’s place on stage and had put on his special underwear. Horatio didn’t have the heart to correct him, and the minion was too scared to. So, Paris was going to get an eyeful.

 

For his part Gil was actually backstage, pretending to be a mimmoth exterminator with Tarvek (who didn’t know why he was putting up with this. The Master just had to lump him with Gil because of his family’s poison lessons).

 

“Focus Holzfäller, we don’t actually need to kill the mimmoths. Our guy is probably in the basement. You’re wasting time.” Kill kill kill kill kill.

 

“But if we don’t kill some we’ll never get to use that cover here again!” Tarvek couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Gilgamesh’s argument, right though he was.

 

“Squealy’s right though. Let’s get our guy so we can watch the show!” But the pirate agreeing with him was somehow even more irksome then being lumped with Gil.

 

Gil opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by the sound of screams. He bolted. Tarvek reluctantly followed. Screams were often a good lead.

 

Jägerkin.

 

Jägerkin everywhere. Well, maybe that was generous. There were six Jäger, which was still six too many. What the actual hell? Why was one climbing on stage with the startled performers? Oh god no! Tarvek averted his gaze. Just Jäger boorishness. Why were they actually here?

 

That question was soon answered by Horatio. “HOY GIL! EETS TIME TO GO HOME!”

 

Gilgamesh was leaving? Why, maybe the day wasn’t a total loss after all! Tarvek forced down the misplaced feelings of sadness at the prospect and put on a fake smile.

 

“What? But I still have two days?” Tarvek’s smile turned to a smirk. Perhaps Gil was in trouble.

 

“Plens changed sveethot. Hyu Poppa gots sick. Ve tot hyu vould vant to be at hees bedside.”

 

And with that statement Tarvek felt something shatter inside him. Static filled his ears as Gil was surrounded by Jäger. Wasn’t Gilgamesh an orphan? He’d given no indication that he’d been adopted. So, every bit of research Tarvek had put in to find out he was Teufel was for nothing then. He’d have to start over. What could possibly be such a dangerous secret that Teufel was a better option? Why were the Jäger being so blasé about it now?

 

Tarvek stared blankly as Gil protested weakly to the Jäger talking so openly about his family only to be shushed and lifted bodily. Muzzily he couldn’t help but note that Gil was clearly very shaken, or he’d be struggling to be on his feet a lot harder.

 

The world came back to him in time to realise that the pirate was grabbing him so they could collect the poisoner. She was laughing. That was never a good sign. And Gil was no longer anywhere in sight to reign her in. The Jäger on stage was the only one remaining (and if the crowd was to be believed was remarkably doing rather well). Tarvek was right back to hating the day.

 

It was only later, when Tarvek had at least three more scars forming and was picking up the evening paper, that he returned his thoughts to the incident. He couldn’t believe what he saw the first time, so he read the headline again.

 

**Baron at Death’s Door**

**Chief minion and Deep Thinkers announce Baron’s heir to world**

 

He stood frozen in the street so long his latest smoke knight began checking the paper for contact poison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know if the rating needs to change, but I think it's fine as is.


	4. Listen to the Night and Smile, Old Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus has a dream

This wasn’t really Castle Heterodyne, Klaus concluded. It looked like the Castle, yes, but it was the Castle as it had been before the Boys went adventuring. The Castle Klaus remembered from the various kidnappings he’d endured during Saturnus’ reign. The kidnappings that had led to him knowing the Boys long before the rest of the world. He’d escaped frequently, but they’d let him. The Castle and its Lord had thought it a game. A game his family had kept quiet to the rest of the world.

 

This wasn’t the Castle as it’d been under the Boys. The Castle had been empty then. Lonely. Demanding. Cold. Dejected.

 

He must be dreaming. It was the only explanation. Although why his unconscious had to drag him back to such a troubling time in his youth, he couldn’t pin point. In any case, as this was a particularly vivid dream, it was probably rather useless to dilly dally in an entrance hall.

 

“Where do I need to go, Castle?” No response. Odd. The thing practically never shut up when it was whole. Well then. No point asking twice.

 

He pushed open the nearest door. He slammed it shut almost immediately afterwards. That was Alexandros Heterodyne and his horse. Doing something Klaus strongly suspected he didn’t want to investigate. He should probably run away… But no. If the Heterodynes in this dream wanted him dead it would already be taking place. Still he moved to the next door.

 

A dining room? Practically every member of the Old Heterodynes who was known to have reproduced was in there, barring a few terrifying exceptions. None of the consorts though. Interesting. He closed the door –

 

And turned to find Saturnus standing right behind him.

 

Klaus froze.

 

He thought he’d grown beyond this fear. The fear of the man who’d raided his home. The man who’d treated him as a particularly inventive pet for his children. The man who’d, with no regard for what was proper, placed him with the education institution intended for the Minions of Mechanicsburg purely so he could keep up with the boys. The man who had him learn torture. The man who’s made him look at the Flesh Yards.

 

Klaus pushed the fear down. Saturnus looked old. Older than he’d had time to grow. Odd. Klaus let the intrigue pull him out of the dark memories. It’s just a dream. Analyse, don’t fear.

 

“Valk vith me, Vulfenbach.” The same voice he remembered, but with none of the energy. It was tired. Sullen with defeat. A swell of satisfaction bloomed in Klaus chest.

 

Matching pace with the defeated Tyrant, Klaus let him lead, curious where this was going.

 

Saturnus snorted, apparently amused by his compliance. “Don’t grow complacent here, boy. It may be a dream, but it’s very real.”

 

Klaus raised an eyebrow.

 

The old man sighed. “Vhy did you take de troth, boy. I know you hated me.”

 

“I wasn’t thinking about you at the time.”

 

Saturnus’ face seemed to age even more. “And vhat of my father, and dose who proceeded him?”

 

“Terrifying, but no longer a factor. I prefer to look forward rather than back.”

 

“Brave vords for one who svore loyalty to a friend you haven’t seen in years. Don’t lie, boy, you vant vith all your heart to reclaim dose days vith my boys I never got to see.”

 

Klaus stopped. “You were going to kill them.”

 

“A mistake I had no chence to regret.” Saturnus too stopped, directing his eyes to a small figure sitting near the doorway of what Klaus was sure was the nursery.

 

Saturnus was gone as fast and silently as he came. The little boy waddled up to him and wrapped his arms around Klaus’ leg. His voice was small, yet sounded like it was echoing through a catacomb, “Dey named me after you.”

 

He felt his heart crumble and melt. This was Klaus-Barry? Blond, check. Strong resemblance to Bill, check. Probably not accurate but the realisation of who this was meant to be froze the Baron solid.

 

“Yes, yes they did.” He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve that honour. It was probably obvious, but he couldn’t for the life of him fathom it. The Baron knelt down and scooped up the boy. Light as a doll a size smaller. Warm as a grave. The child, face full of colour and life, clutched his hands, hands that looked grey in this strange dream. Klaus could feel no pulse in those fingers, he didn’t know why he checked. The small one looked more delicate than Gilgamesh ever did. But that could have been confirmation bias.

 

A hand closed around his elbow, gently, where people shorter than him put their hands when they’d otherwise put it on his shoulder.

 

The Baron startled.

Clutching the boy to his chest as he’d done Gilgamesh.

 

“Just me, old bean.”

 

Bill?!

 

“Heterodynes always return to the Dyne when they’ve had their fun. Don’t be so surprised.” What in blue blazes was his old friend talking about? For a moment the Baron forgot this was a dream. He wanted his old friend.

 

When did they enter a sitting room?

 

“Bill? What’s going on? Where were you?” The words slipped out of his mouth before he could think of more specific questions.

 

“Where you couldn’t follow, chum. I could ask the same of you.” Bill sat and directed Klaus to a chair with a hole in the back.

 

The Baron put down the little boy, who ran to sit on his father’s lap, and took the seat. “Skifander. I was in Skifander.”

 

“What were you doing there?”

 

“It’s a long story. You still haven’t answered my question.”

 

Bill rubbed his chin in thought. “ _I’m_ avoiding my relatives. _You_ are experiencing strange side-effects from being the first spark to take the Brau. This is probably the bit in the story where I give you cryptic advice from beyond the grave before you suddenly wake up screaming. Although, knowing the Brau, you’ll probably pass out again nearly immediately.”

 

Klaus swallowed hard. “I’d rather not think of you as dead, even in a dream.”

 

“Well maybe I’m dreaming too. But everyone else I’ve seen here is dead.” Bill shrugged, but notice-ably hugged the child in his lap tighter after the supposedly casual remark.

 

Klaus sighed. “Then what’s you’re advice old friend? Try to keep it clear.”

 

“All I’ve really got is a request, old boy. Klaus-Barry isn’t an only child, please prote-”

 

The Baron woke up screaming.

 

Writhed in pain.

 

And the world faded to black again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am apparrently not good at pacing myself lol. Enjoy.


	5. Information Exchange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Horatio tries to comfort and Boris is stressed. Gil's in there too.

_“My father did what?”_

_“He svore de troth on hees most precious, und named hyu as hees most precious. Und den he eccidentally mek de Brau und han hexplosion made heem eccidentally take it.” Horatio was trying to keep his face stoic. If he didn’t, it risked looking worried, frustrated, excited, or a combination of the three. He wouldn’t normally think that was a problem, but Gilgamesh clearly needed him to keep his head or nobody would. Careful balance._

_“But that’s ridiculous!” The boy looked like he’d tear his hair out if Horatio left him be, poor thing. Most families at least got warning that a loved one was taking the plunge._

_“Vhich bit? Schtop pulling hyu hair, eet deed nottingk wrong. Dere’s a perfectly goot chair hyu can wreck instead. Deeg hyu fingers into dat.” Yep, there it was. Gil was confused by the suggestion just enough to calm down a little._

_“What do you mean which bit? Father swearing the Troth is extremely dangerous from a political perspective. And that many accidents leading to him downing the Brau is just too unbelievable!” Gil’s hands froze, then he redirected them away from his hair and to the chair as suggested. The touch of spark in Gil’s voice told Horatio that he was still in dangerous territory._

_“Hokay. Hy dun care habout politiks beyond who eez fighting who, zo dot vone goes hover mine head. But! Haff hyu even heard de Heterodyne stories? Hy’m surprised eets been zo long since de Baron last got heemself into ha redi-cuu-louse seet-hyu-ation. Aldoo hy vill say dees is de most serious vone yet.” From the look on Gil’s face he hadn’t thought of that. Horatio wanted to wrap him in a warm hug, but he wasn’t going to do that until Gil stopped dithering on the edge of a fugue. He’d babysat too many young Heterodynes to take that risk._

_Gil tried to collect his words, failed several times. Finally he mustered something._

_“He’s going to live, right?” Raw, emotional, and sparkless._

_Horatio hugged him._

_“Hy don’t know. De odds for most of uz vos tree in tirteen, und ve vere in hour primes, full beel hov health vith no resurrections betveen uz und no spark.” He felt Gilgamesh’s grip on him tighten with those words. He came to a decision._

_“Traditionally de Heterodyne peeks de first hat a Jäger vears, but ve don’t have vun right now, so vhy don’t hyu und hy go find von for heem ven ve lend. Dot sound goot?” He was fairly sure Gkika would support this, and when they landed it would be her he was reporting to. “Hyu eez hees most precious, hy tink it vould be goot for both of hyu.”_

 

Boris took off his glasses to rub his eyes for a moment, before setting aside the Baron’s paperwork to look out the window. Gilgamesh’s dirigible was due to arrive in the next few minutes. He’d had the Castle parked over the town the Jager claimed they brought the Baron to since they caught up, not that that was long ago. By now his boss had been in that ‘secret Jäger hospital’ for three days.

 

Ah, there it was on the horizon.

 

Gilgamesh felt half ill, half wooden. Perhaps like a sick tree? He knew it was worry. The Jäger named Horatio was both helping and… well, not so much making it worse as giving him the facts so he could worry more specifically. Maybe that was better? He didn’t know. He just wanted his father to be okay.

 

He looked inquiringly at Boris when they disembarked from the dirigible that brought them (slow, so slow, there must be a faster way he could have gotten to his father’s bedside). But all he got was a tired paper pusher who was also concerned and out of the know. Boris even seemed to have less idea than him, he’d looked dismayed when Gil had regurgitated the odds Horatio had given him.

 

Gil held up a finger to Boris when he noticed a Jäger approaching them – Horatio, rather. Approaching Horatio. The two saluted each other and then appeared to swap reports in… Well that must be what Old Mechaniac sounded like. But it definitely sounded like the tone of voice Jäger used for making reports, even if he couldn’t understand what was being said.

 

Boris straightened his glasses as soon as the other Jäger left. “Care to share what that was about?”

 

“Hokay, zo de humans who started a betting pool have de odds all wrong.” He put his hand on Gil’s shoulder to catch him before he started ranting or something. “Dere iz always a betting pool. Ve gave op trying to stop dem hundreds hove years hago. Eez just vun vay pipple vent vorry. Hokay?”

 

Gil’s mouth clicked shut. It was sort of off putting for a Jäger to be able to predict his anger. “Hok-er okay.”

 

“Een hany case, eet sounds like efferyvone has a lot of faith in hyu poppa surviving effen eef de odds are more against heem den dey tink.” Gil stayed quiet. He was starting to suspect Horatio was trying to manage his expectations while also trying to provide comfort. “More pipple are gonna vin eef he liffs und dat ees a stronk show hov faith.”

 

Boris gestured for Horatio to continue, irritating Gil slightly. He’d been hoping for more comfort.

 

“Hokay, hokay. Zo. Vord ees dot hees skin hes turned grey. Not een de sick vey, in de Jäger fun colours vay. Dere’s jokes about heem beingk all stony already. Dis ees a goot sign. Eef hees skin has settled dot means ve don’t have to vorry about gills. Gills mean havok vid de air veys. Vun of de top ten keellers, dot iz.”

 

“What does this do to his odds then?” Thank you, Boris. Gil decided that maybe Boris being a busy body was actually a good thing. He certainly didn’t feel like he knew what questions to ask.

 

“Dere’s steel nine of de top ten keellers. Hees teeth are still growing, although dey do haff files at de ready dots still gonna be a danger. Eet looks like he vill haff horns zo eef sey grow vrong dots dangerous too, but not has moch as de teeth. De claws could grow wrong. Any of de internal horgans could fail, heart, lungs und digestive trect count separately. Den deres de seelink op of all de holes. Dots de goot heeling goink bad dot ees. Hy could go on.”

 

Okay. Maybe letting Boris ask questions was a bad idea. Gil decided it was his turn. “So, to sum up, everything the Brau is meant to do could kill him by going over board, shock to his system can kill him and a variety of weird things can kill him.”

 

“Yez. Bot deres also de pain eetself. Not kind on de mind. De masters alvays said de mind vos a beeg ting dot could go wrong, dey neffer said vhy. Und hyu poppa a spark.”

 

Okay. That wasn’t promising. Gil tensed just a bit more.

 

Boris pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed. “Fine. We get the picture. Anything else we need to know?”

 

“Vell hy gots to tek Gil hat shopping for de ceremonial First Hat. Gots to giff de Baron motivation to fight somevone for deir’s so eets gots to be silly… Den dere’s de telling hyu about de tradition not to hend anytink hyu vant beck to heem for at least de first veek – Oh! Yah, dots eet. Until he ken be trusted to hold tings viddout brecking efferyting he isn’t hallowed to fight ennybody for dere hat cus he vill chust hembaress hisself or vill breck more den he vants to.”

 

Gil couldn’t hold it in. Horatio hadn’t told him _that_ about the First Hat he was supposed to be picking. “Oh I’m going to _enjoy_ this!” Perhaps that was mean… but really his father was owed a bit of petty payback after all the stupid stuff he’d pulled over the years.

 

Boris adjusted his glasses, looking displeased. “I suppose I should have expected him not to know his own strength, though I am surprised there’s traditions around it. I’ll be borrowing some Jäger to test pens. However, are you seriously telling me you expect him to go around in a silly hat for a week?”

 

“Old Clemethious started dot tradition. Bot eets an effective motivator. Ve gots to mek sure he vear eet.” Horatio smirked. Gil was very amused by this idea. He was definitely planning to honour this particular tradition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horatio has successfully distracted Gil it seems.


	6. All Around The World is Turning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A compilation of reactions to events and hints at the future.

****

Baron at Death’s Door

Chief Minion and Deep Thinkers announce Baron’s heir to world

 

_Newspapers throughout Europa were declaring the Baron to have come down with some unspecified but potentially deadly malady. Misinformation was spread by the Wulfenbach fleet on the Baron’s location, to respect the secrecy of what Boris had been informed was as close to a Jäger hospital as they had. Instead, journalists were told that the Baron was in Mechanicsburg Hospital. Politely, the Hospital agreed to pretend that he was. Images of Gil standing next to his father were being spread with this information, so the world would know who the heir was._

 

* * *

 

 

Martellus scowled at the paper. If their ‘Heterodyne Girl’ plot had anything more than a skeleton plan in place this would be a glorious opportunity, but _no_. They hadn’t even extracted Zola from her mission in Paris yet. Sure, they had an informant in the Castle now, but he’d hardly been helpful yet. He balled the paper in his fist and threw it to his animals. He hadn’t liked the sound of there suddenly being an heir, either. That threw a spanner in the works too… Although. Yes. Zola had mentioned her mysterious hero wannabe named Gilgamesh had disappeared the day of the news. If the boy thought himself a hero, he could be manipulated.

 

* * *

 

 

Theo read the newspaper aloud to the other, elder, students on Castle Wulfenbach. When they’d seen the headline, they’d decided it was best not to do so in front of the small ones. Apart from interruptions asking if they mentioned what the Baron had come down with (they did not) or other details, the others stayed solemnly quiet throughout. Theo folded the paper and put it down at the end. He could see Sleipnir needling Zulanna for how she’d treated Gil. Z was staring at the floor where they sat in Theo’s room.

 

And then the parcel of glitter arrived. The label said it was from Gil. They didn’t get to it before the smalls.

 

* * *

 

 

Julene was concerned. Prince Sturmvoraus had broken three tea sets since the news broke about the Baron and his son. Surely the future Storm King would be delighted to know that the man he so often tried and failed to avoid was the heir? It gave him an excuse to kill him? Or an advantage from knowing the man since his early years? But no. She’d seen no sign of plotting, nor had any of her comrades at his command been sent to kill. The Prince was simply being stupid about the whole thing like it was a personal insult.

 

And then the parcel of glitter arrived. The label said it was from Gil. Her Prince was just as baffled by it as her until they read the note.

 

_Thought you might want to frustrate a few relatives with this. The Jägerkin worked me into a fugue making a silly hat to force on my father when/if he wakes up and I had a surplus of glitter at the end._

_\- Gil_

 

Tarvek’s hand was covered in glitter from the note. Julene was covered in the pressurised sparkles that had flown out of the envelope when she opened it and tested for poisons. Remarkably, this was the safest glitter she’d ever encountered.

 

“Julene. You are to ensure that all my more annoying relatives experience glitter related discomfort. Preferably at inopportune moments. Send in a servant to collect my clothes for cleaning on your way.” From his tone of voice he was irritated by the entire thing. Not a moment to question his orders then. Still. This seemed a bit below her. This was, at best, a childish prank. She was a bloody Smoke Knight, she was supposed to be doing important work.

 

* * *

 

 

Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer, handed the newspaper to his latest Spunky Girl Sidekick with a grin. She gasped in what he assumes is delight, for that could be the only possible reason. The Tyrant lay helpless! Oh, it wasn’t exactly gentlemanly to strike while he lay weak. But if he didn’t he’d have to save the Wulfenbachs for much later. And besides, being surrounded by countless guards was hardly helpless.

 

AHA! His faithful Sidekick Miriam had the expression she wore when figuring out a particularly tricky trap! He could always rely on her to come up with a strategy. Although usually he had to wait until they were already in the enemy’s lair. Improvement! Oh! She was suggesting they stop at the nearest bar before setting out? Why not. Although, he steered her away from the Wulfenbach soldiers there before she had another crisis of faith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering how many Smoke Knights Tarvek got through in Paris I would advise you don't get attached to Julene.
> 
> The chapter after this is giving me a bit of trouble, and may make me up the rating due to gore. You are now forewarned.
> 
> (Edit: Turns out the reason the next chapter is taking a while is cus it's so big I'll probably split it into multiple chapters. Writing is going easier since I swapped POVs.)


	7. Othar’s deadly plot part 1: Simmering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happenings in Mechanicsburg. Quiet rage seeths below the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I ended up splitting this chapter in 2. Gore is in the next half, and I ended up toning it down cus It was hard to write.

_Nani, nani, your mother’s baby_

_Nani, nani, your mother’s baby_

_Tiny you are when you start to sleep_

_But a grown child when you awake._

_Then you’ll watch the sheep_

_In the fields full of flowers._

_And love each and every one._

_To watch the ducklings_

_In the fields full of snowdrops._

_And love each and every one._

_You’ll watch the little lambs_

_In the fields full of hollow-worts_

_And love each and every one._

_You’ll watch the many people_

_In their towns far and wide_

_And you’ll love each and every one._

_-   A modified version of Culcă-mi-te mititel written by Lady Teadora._

 

The music box in the corner of the room tinkled out Master Bill’s favourite lullaby: Culcă-mi-te mititel. She’d had Bill and Barry’s portrait hung above it.

 

There were no Masters here for Klaus. No Heterodyne to help him.

 

She dug out another ingrowing spike. Her hands had been covered in blood on and off since young Klaus had been brought here to be reborn.

 

But there was no Heterodyne to deliver him into his new life. No Master to fight tooth and claw for his friend to make it to see the light again. Klaus would not wake up and look into his Heterodyne’s eyes and know they’d both fought this battle for his life. There was only Gkika. And her heart ached for him.

 

She’d filled the room with as many reminders of them as she could. Bill and Barry’s memory was testified to in the knick knacks and assorted spark nonsense she’d had arranged in the room.

 

It wasn’t the same. It could never be the same as the real thing.

 

He screamed as he blearily came into consciousness. Not for the first time. He choked out something about his rear, straining against the restraints she’d set, before passing out once more. As soon as he was still she unlocked him and flipped him. Ah. The beginnings of a tail. That certainly explained that.

 

Earlier that day.

 

Miriam bit her lip. Othar had dragged her to Mechanicsburg, where the Baron supposedly lay sick in the hospital. Fortunately the Baron didn’t actually seem to be there. They searched every floor, and while Miriam had been prepared to scream should they find him it had been unnecessary. There had been fake barons, but none real.

 

So his insane bossiness had decided to go to the bar for a drink and think. She’d tagged along just in case. This was no longer about simply being minion-napped and having difficulty resisting his charisma, now she had reason to resist. Although unfortunately that meant she had to stick around.

 

He’d picked a rather dubious part of town. Just down the street was that Mamma Gkika’s place that so offended her mother. She wasn’t old enough to remember that. Apparently her grandfather on her father’s side had worked for old Saturnus in some capacity and her mother had tried to keep her away from all that Heterodyne business after she broke it off with her father. Not that that stopped the man from sending her presents.

 

“Know much about Mechanicsburg, Miriam?” Asked Othar idly, rolling his beer in a circular wave around the inside of his mug.

 

“I know the local language some, few of the neat tourist spots and odd bits and bobs here and there. But not much else.” Not really a lie, but maybe that was the problem.

 

“Language? But everyone here is speaking Romanian.” Perhaps this would help keep him distracted actually.

 

“Oh sure, this is a tourist part of town. Of course everyone is speaking the lingua franca of the empire. But exactly how long was Mechanicsburg a sealed fortress to the world? Of course they have their own language, you’d hear it if you strayed from the tourist routes. But they don’t exactly encourage you to go into the Tumbles.” Why was this even a surprise to him? Was this not common knowledge?

 

“Ah. Hmm, yes that does make sense.” Othar massaged his small beard thoughtfully. “I know what to do next! Have you overheard anything that could give us a clue?”

 

Miriam had. A few locals who worked at the hospital had been grumbling about the Baron really being in Mechanicsburg and attracting all those assassins. But she needed to lie. “No, just the usual background grumbling.”

 

Othar hummed thoughtfully before finishing his beer and encouraging her to do the same. The next thing she knew they were in a bookshop and Othar was purchasing a translation guide for Mechaniac. One of the ones aimed at tourists of course, her father had always left her with the impression that Mechanicsburgers would be unlikely to give outsiders too much information.

 

“I’ve seen people use this alphabet to try to summon beings from the beyond? They failed course, but why?” Othar asked that question as they returned to their hotel room. Miriam couldn’t help but snicker.

 

“Considering the Old Heterodynes, why are you even surprised that their mother tongue is considered evil magic by some?” It all seemed obvious to her, but then, she had known about this since she was a child. Othar was from Norway, not particularly close to where the old Heterodynes ran rampant. He only really remembered the Boys as far as she could tell.

 

She went to sleep shortly after. Hoping that was it for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to all be from Gkika's perspective but... I just *couldn't* for some reason?
> 
> Enjoy your substitute, the lovely Miriam Bloodwreath-Oakward. Yes, that's her name now. This is an 11pm decision.
> 
> Time of posting edit: I put it through Google Translate so now it's Miriam Blutkranz-Eicheward.
> 
> [edit 17/01/19: Somehow the line between the lullaby and the rest of the fic disapeared when being copied from my files. I've fixed it now.


	8. Othar’s deadly plot part 2: Boil Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dun DUN DAAAAAAAA

Miriam woke with a start. Someone was knocking on her door. She glanced out the window, it was still dark out. She picked up the pocket death ray she kept at her bedside and held it behind her back. It looked like a heavily modified revolver, but instead of bullets it had multi-shot bio-power cells loaded. She just had to leave the drained ones in flower food water and sunlight for a while and they’d recharge. It was all she had left of her late boss and childhood friend. Everything else was back at the home Othar had stolen from her.

 

She crept towards the door and opened it a fraction.

 

Othar.

 

“Oh no. What now?” She slipped the pocket death ray into her pocket where Othar wouldn’t see. “I was trying to sleep.”

 

“I have a lead. We need to move quickly.” Aaaand he was in the madness place. Marvellous. At least he was being quiet.

 

“I’ll change into some sneaking clothes then. Stay there.” She closed the door before he could answer. Locking it for good measure. Oh sure, he called himself a Gentleman Adventurer, but Gentlemen hardly abducted easily influenced young ladies to go on dangerous adventures and made it near impossible for them to get away. And he was in the madness place, so she really didn’t trust him.

 

She did as she said she would, changing into all black without much flowing fabric and her quiet shoes. She stuffed her pockets with her lockpicks and of course the death ray. Finally Miriam grabbed some rope with a grappling hook.

 

She debated waiting a few extra minutes to delay them and potentially give the baron more time… No. Othar knew how long it took her to change and grab her things. That wouldn’t work. So she stepped out with him and hoped.

 

Why the hell did Othar think creeping through the basement of Mamma Gkika’s was a valuable use of their time? Ugh. Ok. At least it didn’t look like he’d be getting the Baron tonight.

 

_Nani, nani, your mother’s baby_

_Nani, nani, your mother’s baby_

 

Was that… A lullaby? Othar had noticed too. He was following the sound, so of course so did she.

 

_Tiny you are when you start to sleep_

_But a grown child when you awake._

 

Uhuh. Lullaby. And it was coming from below. Othar found the trap door and opened it.

 

_Then you’ll watch the sheep_

_In the fields full of flowers._

_And love each and every one._

 

Othar got halfway down the ladder before there was a shout of alarm. The big lug decided the obvious course of action was to drop and face whoever it was.

 

_To watch the ducklings_

_In the fields full of snowdrops._

_And love each and every one._

 

She dropped down behind him after he was out of the way. She looked in his direction to see what they - no - he was facing.

 

Oh shit. That was Gilgamesh Wulfenbach.

 

_You’ll watch the little lambs_

_In the fields full of hollow-worts_

_And love each and every one._

 

Ok, great. Othar had stumbled on a solid lead. Now what? She came in with Othar. Wulfenbach would assume she was an enemy. How to make it clear she hated Tryggvassen?

 

Death ray.

 

_You’ll watch the many people_

_In their towns far and wide_

_And you’ll love each and every one._

 

Her shot hit Othar between the shoulder blades. Wulfenbach was quick to press the advantage while Othar boggled at her betrayal.

 

Miriam’s hands shook. The sounds of the world around her seemed to become nothing but a loud buzzing incomprehensible mass.

 

She shot someone. She shot Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer. People thought he was a hero. He’d been her only consistent human contact for months. He’d “rescued” her from a ton of sparks who’d captured her when she’d tried to escape him. And she’d shot him.

 

He killed her employer after tricking her into helping him and then abducted her, leaving her with no way to support herself if she got away from him.

 

The buzzing she heard turned quickly into the sound of rapid fire from her pocket death ray. Miriam’s vision blurred as the months of buried hurt came pouring out.

 

HOT!

 

The death ray clattered to the floor. Cooling. The world around her rushed back to her. Her face felt hot and wet. Her hands stung from when the death ray got too hot to hold. The music had stopped. Othar and Wulfenbach were nowhere to be seen. There was a trail of singe marks along the wall towards the door. She could still hear a fight. A wall in the next room must have come down, she could hear bits of it falling over and settling.

 

A Jäger roared. A big Jäger from the sound of it.

 

Miriam folded into a fetal position on the floor. She didn’t know what to do. At this point the situation would normally be that she was damsel in distress or attacking the doomsday device of whatever spark Othar – no, stop being familiar – Tryggvassen had decided to kill. Sometimes she’d be trying to sneak off in the confusion of the fight. No. She’d need to explain her actions to the Wulfenbachs or she could have a man hunt on her hands.

 

That’s right. Assuming the Wulfenbach heir and the Jäger won she’d be free anyway, so long as she could make herself understood. She just needed to wait for the fight to end. Okay. That was a plan. She could work with that.

 

She poked her death ray to check if it’d cooled, then picked it up and swapped out it’s drained power cells. Miriam flipped the chamber cylinder back into place once she was done. Standing back up, she held the gun ready in case Tryggvassen a) won, or b) got away. She needed to be ready in case she had to fight him.

 

There was a roar, a terrible ripping sound, and suddenly Tryggvassen was barrelling back through the door. Collapsing not far from her behind some of the crates. She didn’t have time to figure out his injuries in his haste, but his fall sounded wet and there was a trail of blood.

 

Time slowed down. She made a snap decision as Wulfenbach appeared in the doorway. Leaping onto the crates she looked down at her abductor.

 

“Ah, Miriam. We’ll need to work on your aim later. You didn’t hit Wulfenbach once.” Damn him and his stupid ability to rationalise anything in favour of his views. He was performing the Peruvian Quick Stitch on his abdomen… Oh god. From the blood trails she could tell he’d had his intestines pulled out, wrapped around his neck and shoved in his mouth. His stupid but effective jumper was gone along with his shirt. She was rather proud to note the burn marks distinctive of her gun on him, although they were rather more healed then they should be.

 

Maybe if she aimed in just one place and fired repeatedly?

 

Wulfenbach was approaching with a crowbar.

 

She knew a crowbar wouldn’t be enough to kill him.

 

She put her gun to his throat while Tryggvassen was mid stitch. “No, I think my aim’s fine.”

 

Miriam fired, and kept firing before he could recover.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarity, Othar went through the trap door just seconds after we last saw Gkika.
> 
> Class starts next week so updates will likely slow.


	9. Cold Ore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's visit the Clays, shall we.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With so many things happening at the same time it may seem like Klaus is taking a long time to transform, but it does all really fit into a week.
> 
> (Originally wasn't going to involve the Clays but changed my mind)

It was a cool evening in Beetleburg. A squad of the Baron’s troops had set up shop in town due to the town’s proximity to where he lay ill. At least, that’s what they told Dr Beetle. They weren’t buying it. The squad was made almost entirely of Jägerkin, which wasn’t normal when posting a passive troop this close to Mechanicsburg, so the whole thing seemed suspicious.

 

Lilith pulled up her hood as she approached the area. She’d bought perfume specifically to avoid being identified by scent, but all she had on hand for a disguise was aviator goggles. Still, Jägerkin never were the brightest bulbs in the building, and they needed to know what was going on. So Lilith covered herself as best she could and slunk into the shadows of an alley like she belonged there.

 

She snuck close to a pair hanging around behind a beer hall. She’d heard snatches of Mechaniac, so it was safe to assume they were discussing a sensitive topic.

 

 _“You remember when we took the Brau, Brother?”_ Asked one, she remembered him as Stoge. He was notoriously bad at keeping secrets. The typical green colour, with some brown hair and a tusk.

 _“Yeah. Old Lazarus didn’t leave my side once. Pretty sure he only slept by accident once or twice, but not for long.”_ Dorian nodded sagely, a cerulean Jäger with antlers and white hair. This was an intriguing thing for Jäger to be chatting about. They didn’t usually talk about this, so why was it on their minds?

 

 _“Robur was the same. I think they all were. We devoted ourselves to them, and they returned the favour.”_ Or maybe they were just being nostalgic. She almost felt sad for them before she remembered they sided with Klaus and therefore the Other.

 

 _“Is sad Klaus won’t have that.”_ Lilith froze. There was something here, she wasn’t sure what, but she was going to listen to Dorian finish the thought. _“He’s taken the Troth but the Heterodyne isn’t here to pull him through the transformation. He won’t have that bond.”_

 

Klaus did WHAT!

 

 _“HOY! I know! Maybe we’ll find a Heterodyne here and we can take him back to help Klaus!”_ Ah yes. Typical Jäger logic… But, this time she couldn’t find fault in it.

 

Lilith needed to talk to Adam. If this was true, then there was a very real possibility Barry was wrong. She walked away, home.

 

Adam was in the workshop fixing a printing press. She waited for him to look up at her. “I heard something strange when listening to the Jäger. Something that brings our orders into question. Has Agatha come home yet?”

 

He shook his head, then gestured that they should take this further inside. She nodded and headed in, Adam following behind her after wiping off his hands. After she relayed what she overheard, Adam's brow knitted. He took a moment to think about it.

 

Adam proceeded to perform a series of gestures contingent of Mechaniac sign. He was suggesting a fact check. Abduct a Jäger… Tomorrow, while Agatha would be in the lab assisting Dr Beetle. Yes that seemed reasonable.

 

“We should take him to the underground, away from anything that will give our home away.” Lilith suggested. Adam nodded, specifying a specific room.

 

Agatha came home not long later. Lilith comforted her on her latest friend mysteriously distancing themselves. She didn’t deserve that, it shouldn’t be happening, but it always did, and it made Lilith feel powerless to help her daughter who should have lots of friends.

 

But maybe, just maybe, she could change that soon.


	10. Pumping the Bellows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jorgi has a weird morning.

Jorgi had an early petrol around the perimeter of the buildings they’d taken residence in. It was fairly boring so far. The wind meandered gently, not roaring but whispering around the peaks of the buildings. Beetleburg was quiet. Or maybe that was just in the bit that surrounded the Jäger. He wouldn’t be surprised if people were avoiding them.

 

Then he heard something heavy fall in a nearby alley. That clearly needed investigating. Jorgi leaned into the alley curiously. Hmm, nothing obvious. With a sound that loud there had to be something, so he headed further in.

 

The world went dark.

 

His head hurt. Jorgi could feel chains wrapped around in tight strategic ways. Nicely done. Now, who had dared to kidnap him and where was he? Listening intently gave him no clues except that maybe they were underground? He sniffed slowly, trying not to give away that he’d come to. Definitely underground. It smelt of constructs, too.

 

Someone coughed politely.

 

“How hyu know hy vos avake?!” He exclaimed, opening his eyes.

 

The sight that greeted him took the air from his lungs.

 

“You stopped snoring, sweetie.” Judy? No, this couldn’t be true.

 

“Neffer mind. Hy is clearly dreamink.” Punch appeared behind her and snorted. Well then. “Bot if hyu is real hy vould like to know vhy hy is all tied op?”

 

“We don’t know how much we can trust you. We have some questions.” Jorgi felt his stomach turn to ice.

 

“Vhy? Ve both serve de Heterodynes? Hy vill answer hyu questions best hy can.” He felt a little hurt. Okay, a lot hurt.

 

Adam makes a vague sign about orders. What orders?

 

“First tell us about Klaus and the Other.” Interesting line of questioning...

 

“Klaus fights dem. Does efferyting he ken to route dem out. Vhen he find dere tech he studies it und den uses vot he learned to fight dem better.” It seemed an obvious answer to him but the scepticism in their eyes concerned him.

 

“And what would you think if Barry came up to you and told you that Klaus was working with the Other?” Oh. OH. He could see what was happening here. It hurt. Punch and Judy apparently knew something the Jäger did not. They suspected their old friend of treachery and were using Barry to test his conviction to his answer.

 

“De Jäger aren’t unqvestionink soldiers Mistress Judy. Loyal to our Masters, but our Masters are not always right. Hy vould ask how he tink dot ven Klaus could have de whole of Europa unquestionink of him by now bot he lets dem mock him instead? Klaus hates de polotiks. He does it so his son ken be safe.” Jorgi sighs, then shrugs. “If Barry gave goot reason hy vould belief him. But hy ken’t tink of vot he vould haff to say.”

 

Punch and Judy exchanged a look. Judy analytical, looking for a second opinion. Punch frowning, regretful.

 

Judy sighs, looking back at Jorgi. “We last saw Barry ten years ago. He thought Klaus was against us.”

 

“DOT VOSN’T HYPO-TETIC-AL?!” Punch nodded. “Vot happened to him?”

 

“He left us with something to protect, orders, and an intent to return ‘soon’. That soon never came, and now those orders might be out of date. We need you to answer everything as completely as possible so we can adapt.” Jorgi straightened up at her words and tried to look as serious as he could before nodding.

 

“I overheard Stoge and Dorian discussing Klaus’ current situation. Could you shed some light on that for us?” Curiouser and curiouser. Well, he supposed everyone was theorising about it, so it wasn’t strange she wanted to know.

 

“Ho, vere to begin!”

 

“At the start sweetie.”

 

Jorgi grinned. “Hokay. So vid de Castle broke tings in secret places aren’t getting vell repaired, yez? Someting secret started leaking into de Dyne. Someting dangerous. So de Baron? He tell de Generals dot he vill be do only one researchingk it und svore on hees friendship vid de boys he vould tell nobody vot he found.”

 

The pair nodded.

 

“So de Generals tell us all to be asking him qvestions und keeping an eye on heem, yah? Den vonce ve tell dem his answers dey tell as many of us as could hide in dere room to do so und invite de Baron to tea und talk heem into svearing de Troth.”

 

“How? How did they convince him?” Judy asked.

 

Jorgi shrugged. “Dey din tell heem it vos de Troth til after. I tink he vould haff gotten angry if he didn’t mean his vords, but all he did vos ask us to keep it secret like.”

 

“And then they gave him the Brau?” Sharp, as always.

 

Jorgi shook his head. “Not vithout a Heterodyne present. Und he vanted it secret.”

 

He looked up at them both, watched them relax a little, before dropping the truth.

“He made eet himself.”


	11. Melting Pot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agatha has a surprise.

Agatha came home to find that Adam wasn’t in the forge. The forge was, in fact, closed. She unlocked the front door and stepped in. Adam and Lilith were in the living room with a Jäger? She gave a curious look through the door.

 

“HALLO! Hyu must be Agatha. Hyu parents vere just telling me about hyu!” He was… normal-ish? At least not immediately horrible like some stories she’d heard.

 

“Come sit down sweetie. Agatha, this is Jorgi, Jorgi, this is Agatha.” Lilith patted the seat next to her. Agatha obliged and sat down with her.

 

“Nice to meet you, sir.” She could have sworn he twitched at the word sir, but she didn’t know his actual rank so she couldn’t think of a politer way to refer to him. Maybe he was a sergeant? Those tended to dislike being called sir.

 

“Iz nice to meet hyu to, young Lady.” He smiled… sharply at her. Then turned his gaze on Lilith with a look steeped in meaning that was beyond her. Agatha followed his gaze questioningly.

 

“Agatha. Your eighteenth birthday is coming up. I and Adam have decided to give you a choice. Jorgi has brought some information that brought this ahead a few weeks.” Lilith nodded towards Jorgi, so Agatha turned her gaze to him. What was this about?

 

“Hyu is a Heterodyne. De only von ve know de location of. Hyu are de rightfully Mistress of de Jägerkin. Vhen a Jäger takes de Brau de Heterodyne does efferyting dey can tink of to make sure dey liff tru de transformation. Dere is a man who svore hees loyalty to hyu but does not know hyu exist. He excidentally took de Brau widout a Heterodyne to help heem.” Jorgi is leaning forward, a serious expression on his face.

“Vould hyu like to help him?”

 

Agatha was speechless. She glanced to her parents. “Whatever you choose we’ll respect, honey.”

 

She looked down into her lap.

 

She was stupid. She got headaches all the time. Nothing she made ever works.

This was a life or death operation. She’d never had any hands-on training.

 

“What if I make it worse?” Her voice trembled.

 

“We’ll be there to help. He’s already under the care of the Jäger’s best expert, she’ll help you too.” Lilith’s tone was soothing. She felt her mother’s arms close around her in a hug.

 

Agatha was quiet for several minutes.

 

They said she was the Heterodyne. That was… a lot. It would need a lot of thinking to process. If she rushed into thinking about it, it’d hurt.

 

Focus on the choice then.

 

If she had help maybe it wouldn’t go horribly wrong? This person had apparently sworn his loyalty to the very idea of someone like her existing.

 

She… she wouldn’t disappoint him would she?

 

Maybe just trying to be there would be enough? To prove he didn’t swear his loyalty for nothing?

 

Was she better than nothing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I want to help him.”

 

Jorgi lit up like a village under bombardment. “Hy vill go mek arrangements for transport. Hy vill be bek! Tank hyu my Lady!”

 

Jorgi went to run out of the room, paused, doubled back and offered Agatha a hug. She hesitated but accepted. It felt like he held her like a lifeline in a hurricane.

 

After he reluctantly let go and left the building, Adam put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

 

“Alright. Agatha, your Uncle’s safety measures weren’t designed for this situation. They’ll hinder you unless we modify them. I want you to give your locket to Adam so he can do that. I’ll send the shoemaker’s apprentice with a note for Dr Beetle to explain your absence, then I’ll come help you pack everything we’ll need for the journey.” Lilith put her hand on Agatha’s other shoulder, mirroring Adam’s squeeze.

 

So… Uncle Barry hadn’t lied about her locket protecting her? How would it hinder her helping the new Jäger?

 

It had been around her neck for so long.

 

Her parents let go of her shoulders as she reached to remove it. Handing it to Adam felt strange. Her neck felt bare.

 

It felt… free.


	12. Anvil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the Gorlz

_Jorgi had chosen to drive through at least part of the night. The Lady Heterodyne had seemed to have a confidence issue. It was very clear when she’d been making the choice to come help. He’d talked to Judy, and she’d said it was a lack of friends and stress headaches to blame. Poor girl. He knew that in Mechanicsburg she’d find friends, that much was guaranteed. Maybe that’d help with the headaches too._

_The Jager was startled out of his reverie when he spotted movement inside the wagon._

 

Agatha didn’t know how long it was since they’d left Beetleberg. Apparently Jorgi had requisitioned the fastest clank wagon she had ever encountered. The journey was a blur. She’d tried to take a nap, but then she’d been shaken awake and the clank had been going even faster, and she had a death ray now?

 

She didn’t know what was happening, but soon the gates of Mechanicsburg were on the horizon, lights glowing in the early morning gloom.

 

They were going too fast. Jorgi was trying to get the brakes to work, but there was apparently something in the way.

 

Adam ran to the back of the clank to manually deactivate the engine.

 

They were still going too fast!

 

_Many would grumble and shake their heads when morning came, and brought the wreck of a rather nice clank wagon in the square with it. They would be told that someone was suckered into buying a wagon with faulty breaks, as Agatha was snuck away into the darkness._

 

Gkika’s girls examined the sleeping girl as her parents bustled around the space getting things in place. “We’re gonna need a covah for her. The baron’s son’s keepin watch outside his door. E’ think’s only Jagers are allowed in.” Commented one wearing a purple set of upstairs-costuming. The nice, modest, tourist safe stuff.

 

Judy sighed and stood up. “I know, but she needs to be a secret as much as possible. Is there anything you can do?”

 

“Well, it ain’t like we don’t have Jager costumes. Most of us ‘ave sworn to keep the secrets, so we’re let in. I think he’s fooled by the get up, since he’s ‘ardly slept.” Commented another of the girls, this time one dressed in black upstairs stuff.

“Nah, I think Betty fed ‘im the line that we’d sworn de troth too, tah have the honour o’ dressin like Jagers.” The third, a lanky lass in a pink matching outfit, counters. “An’ anyway, she’d need to beat up a tourist if she wanted a hat.”

 

Judy met the girl’s gazes steadily, looking them up and down. Gkika’s was… disreputable, or at least, that’s the reputation they projected. She really didn’t like this plan at all. She didn’t think Agatha would like it either. Was there even another one available? Not unless her edict of secrecy was broken, at least not one as quick to prepare.

 

“If, and only if, she agrees, you are to give her the most modest, least provocative costume you can. And you will make sure it’s surgery safe.” Judy looked to Punch who nodded and signalled his opinions on the hat… No, Agatha was likely not going to get out of that custom was she? “And when selecting her hat target, be aware she has no idea how to fight, so give her a chair to use or something.”

 

The girls grinned. “Leave it to us, mistress Judy”

“We’ll have her looking fearsome.”

“And smacking hard enough to get a hat.”

 

“Just remember she’s here to perform surgery, and I’ll need access too.” Judy intoned with a sigh. “She’ll need the help.”

 

The girls paused.

“I think you’d get away with just wearing the teeth, mistress. The lad’s too sleep deprived. Especially if we go in with you.” The purple one commented, which caused Punch to snicker silently.

 

Judy took off her glasses, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed.

 

Agatha woke up a few minutes later. It was a blur as the girls gathered round and started to animatedly talk to her about getting her past the baron’s guards disguised as a Jager.

 

“Slow down, please? Do you really think you can make me look like a Jager?” The girls grinned toothily. “Okay… that’s a silly question.”

 

The next thing Judy knew, Agatha was coming down the stair with a new hat and black eye. The girl seemed to be marvelling at the fact that beating a tourist felt good. Well, Judy supposed, they did their best to keep her away from violence. It didn’t surprise her the girl was startled by the catharsis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took four exausting attempts

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by a bunch of others. I see concepts I like and it makes me think about how I'd do them differently. I will add to this note as I go.
> 
> Here are the ones that are relevant so far for your investigation:
> 
> Another Jäger!Klaus fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15948347/chapters/37191488
> 
> Jäger being diplomatic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2073147
> 
> Klaus knowing Saturnus: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3664830/chapters/8100234


End file.
